'Beetle Bailey' cartoonist Mort Walker dies at 94

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2010 file photo, Mort Walker, the artist and author of the Beetle Bailey comic strip, stands in his studio in Stamford, Conn. On Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, a family member said the comic strip artist has died. He was 94. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A family member says comic strip artist Mort Walker, who tickled newspaper readers with the antics of the lazy Army private “Beetle Bailey,” has died. He was 94.

Walker’s son, Greg, said his father died Saturday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. Greg Walker attributed the cause of death to his father’s advanced age.

Mort Walker began publishing cartoons at age 11 and was involved with more than a half-dozen comic strips in his career, including “Hi and Lois,” ”Boner’s Ark” and “Sam & Silo.” But he found his greatest success drawing Beetle, his hot-tempered sergeant and the rest of the gang at fictional Camp Swampy for more than 60 years.